COACHES' CORNER: JIM KITTYand LIAM HENNESSYassess the specific fitness demands that are placed on the body by regularly playing soccer and the training required

DEMANDS OF YOUR SPORT

IN ORDER to get fit for your sport you must know the physical, technical and psychological demands that are required to compete. Over the next three weeks, we will look at the physical demands that are made by some of our main sports.

Knowing the demands of your sport is important because they inform you of two key points for planning physical training. What movements are required and what is the energy system training you need to train to be ready to perform the skills of the sport optimally and without fatigue as the competition continues.

Knowing the common activities and movement patterns that are found in your sport at a higher level than you are participating at you will be able to set your fitness targets at a higher level.

The demands of Soccer: Soccer can be described as an intermittent-type sport with regular changes in activity every 3-5 seconds of a game. This means that the player is constantly changing his direction of movement or the way he applies his skill on average 12-15 times a minute.

This means that there could be over 1000 changes of activity in a 90 minute game for the player. To prepare for these multiple brief movements you will need to ensure that your training mimics these. This means devising drills and exercises first of all to prepare you to be able to complete the movements efficiently.

This is one of the key factors that separates the better players from ordinary players - the better player is very efficient in how he moves. The good news is that all players can learn how to move better.

If you are a regular viewer of The Champions League on TV you may have noticed that technology now can tell us immediately the distance covered in a game by any player. Typically, soccer players at the highest level cover anywhere between 12 and 14 kilometres in a game. Most of this distance is spent walking and jogging.

However, do not think that going out and running 14 km will prepare you physically for the game. It will not.

You will need to be able to accelerate and stop very efficiently and quickly, you will cover a lot of ground completing multiple brief intense movements involving tackles, turns, jumps and high-speed runs throughout the game. If you can complete these movements efficiently and with good skill then you are on your way to being a fitter and better player.

The energy systems taxed during soccer are both aerobic and anaerobic. The aerobic system is the one that is improved when your heart-rate is maintained high over a period of time. The anaerobic energy system is improved when you repeat fast runs with brief rest recoveries. The higher the level of play the greater the physical demands on the player. Studies on professional soccer players show that at international level players cover more ground by performing 25 per cent more high-intensity running and 35 per cent more sprinting-related activities than pro players at club level.